James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will be succinct. The referendum is a blunt instrument at the best of times. In this country, we have seen how divisive referendum campaigns can be. I think we have learned something from them in this country. If we look at the UK result, one of the points made in the immediate aftermath was about the veracity of some of the claims made by the "Leave" side, in particular. We have learned in this jurisdiction to use the Referendum Commission, which at least poses a test for factual claims made during a referendum campaign.

Another problem with the referendum is the binary nature of it. It is a question of "in" or "out". There is no plan C. I wonder had there been an option to reform the EU on the ballot, if it would have gone through. It reminds me of the Seanad abolition referendum campaign. The question was whether one wanted to abolish the Seanad or keep it. Reform of the Seanad was not on the table. The binary nature of these decisions can be unhelpful when trying to reach some kind of political consensus.

In this country, we deeply regret the outcome. It is patently a bad result for Ireland, the UK, Europe and the world. However, we have to recognise the legitimate mandate of the democratic will of the British people. It was by a small margin, but nonetheless, 17 million people voted to leave.

I believe the EU has a fundamental problem. It needs to reconnect with its citizenry. It has invested in the regions on the periphery but it has not communicated that investment. In recent times - austerity and other recent difficulties have been mentioned - it has dealt a raw deal to certain countries, including our own country during the bail-out and subsequent negotiations with the bondholders, etc. Very little flexibility was shown to Ireland and to other smaller member states. In Italy, we saw a situation in which the Prime Minister was effectively imposed. We have seen other examples elsewhere. These were unhelpful, as indeed was the decision of the six founding countries to get together last weekend. That did not send a message of inclusiveness to the other nation states remaining within the EU. Europe needs to reflect on that itself and consider how it goes about it.

We must look at the political malaise. When effectively the entire establishment of a country is in favour of something and the people still reject it, we must ask questions about the democratic deficit and political engagement. We have seen it happen in this country on other issues as well.

On a more positive and practical note, while we have to deal with this regrettable result, we must also deal with the consequences. It has been speculated and suggested that many firms may turn their gaze towards Ireland to relocate, increase investment or move firms and FDI to this jurisdiction. This is to be welcomed. It is not opportunistic to express this. It is simply responsible. When one's boat is being rocked by a wave from offshore, one does not worry where it comes from but rather takes steps to steady one's own ship.

The IDA, Enterprise Ireland and similar agencies must be tasked and resourced to have immediate plans in place to cater for these expressions of interest.

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